Chapter 10
I finally saw Riley again.
”
He stood just a few steps away from me, as if trying to trigger some old memory. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing the small clock tattoo on his
wrist.
Back then, he’d shielded me from my stepfather’s attack. A shard of glass had slashed his wrist wide open. He didn’t want me to worry about the scar, so he got that little clock inked over it.
“Alora.”
Riley looked at me, his voice soft.
“I don’t want things to end like this between us.” He took a step closer. “I don’t care about the money. I’d be content just watching you from afar.
“But could you give me another chance? Let me try to win you back.
“Alora, I really know I was wrong.”
I stared at Riley, finding it almost laughable. He’d once promised me forever, then threw it all away for a fleeting thrill. I used to agonize over it, thinking maybe I’d waver if I saw him again. But now, with him standing right in front of me, I realized.
I was truly over him.
“Let it go, Riley.”
I met his eyes. “We’re done. That’s all there is to it.”
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Chapter 10
Without another word, I got in my car and drove off.
Still, Riley kept showing up outside my apartment every day, rain or shine. He never caused a scene, just watched me from a distance, as if hoping that persistence alone would wear down my resolve.
But, it didn’t.
To me, he was nothing but air. After three months of this, Nicole finally snapped. She stormed down and yelled at him.
“Stop acting pathetic in front of Alora! If you want to blame someone for your mess, go find the real culprit!
“She doesn’t owe you a damn thing!”
Nicole was furious–but it worked.
”
Riley vanished. Before he disappeared, he sent me a strange text.
He wrote, “Alora, I should go after the one who tore us apart.”
ww
デ
Riley had always been obsessive. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to the message. But soon after, a chill ran down my spine and I called the police–just in case.
I wanted no part of what came next.
Sure enough, after Nicole’s tirade, Riley found out Jasmine had moved on to some older, wealthy man. She offered him company, he offered her cash–it was a perfect match. In the middle of their affair, Riley burst into their hotel room with a knife.
He stabbed Jasmine.
He watched as her blood sprayed everywhere, his face twisted in hatred.
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“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have ended up like this! You did this to
me!”
Jasmine, caught completely off guard, screamed for the old man to call the cops. But the guy bolted–he didn’t even stop to pull on his pants.
Realizing she couldn’t escape, Jasmine turned on Riley, screaming.
“You think you’re something? You were nothing without your wife! Without her, you’re just a loser.
‘I must’ve been blind to ever think you were some rising star–you’re nothing but a leech!”
She spat a bloody mouthful of phlegm right in Riley’s face.
That pushed him over the edge.
“You want to die? Fine by me!” Riley roared.
I saw the news later that day. Nicole rushed over with the video–by then, the internet was already in a frenzy.
After all, their affair had always been a spectacle.
The footage was crystal clear: Riley being hauled away by the cops, Jasmine’s body covered in a blood–soaked sheet.
“I heard Riley stabbed Jasmine,” someone whispered.
“I always thought he had a violent streak. Thank God you divorced him,” Nicole said, still shaken.
“I can’t even imagine what might’ve happened if you’d stayed with him.”
I watched the video, saw Riley’s calm, expressionless face, and
remembered what he’d told me at 18.
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“Alora, if I can’t spend my life with you, I won’t survive.”
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The next thing I heard about Riley was that he’d killed himself in prison.
Before he died, he wrote me a letter. When it arrived, I didn’t even open it. I threw it straight into the fire and watched it burn.
